On Friday, via a press release, FC Bayern Munich announced reaching an agreement with Spanish football club FC Barcelona for the transfer of Arturo Vidal. The Chilean midfielder was to sign a three-year contract with Barcelona after his medical examination.

File photo of Arturo Vidal. Image: Дмитрий Садовников. (CC BY-SA 3.0)
31-year-old Vidal joined the German giants FC Bayern in 2015 from Italian side Juventus FC. Since joining Bayern, Vidal has scored 22 goals, in 124 matches in all competitions. He also provided eighteen assists. During his tenure at Allianz Arena, Vidal has won three consecutive German Bundesliga titles, two DFL Super Cups as well as one DFB-Pokal. Prior to moving to Bayern, Vidal won four consecutive Italian Serie A titles with Juventus. Internationally, Vidal has won the Copa América in 2015 as well as 2016's Copa América Centenario.

Speaking about the transfer, Bayern Munich's chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said, "On behalf of FC Bayern, I wish to thank Arturo with all my heart for three fantastic years [...] Arturo made a significant contribution to the great successes we enjoyed in this time. He always led from the front in important matches, and we could always rely on him." ((de))German language: &#8205;Ich möchte mich im Namen des FC Bayern bei Arturo für drei tolle Jahre herzlich bedanken [...] wir haben in dieser Zeit große Erfolge gefeiert, daran hatte Arturo maßgeblichen Anteil. Er ist auch in wichtigen Spielen immer vorangegangen, auf ihn konnten wir uns immer verlassen. Vidal still had one-year left in his contract with Bayern.

Barcelona's manager Ernesto Valvarde said, "Vidal is someone we hope can add energy in midfield [...] We know he has a lot of experience. The amount of games he's played for his previous teams is very good. He has a big presence and he doesn't disappear on the pitch."

Before signing Vidal, Barcelona signed Arthur Melo, Clément Lenglet and Malcom this season.